Shadows and FLames
by Ben Myatt
Summary: Mimi Tachikawa Is one of the Digidestined, a young woman destined to change the world. Liam Dillon is a Man with a past, who tries desperately to keep it hidden. But Looming conspiracies bring that past back to haunt them both. Mimi/OC, Some Daikari.


Disclaimer: I do not own digimon. I do, however own Liam. Hah.

* * *

Chapter one:

(five years ago)

Cities always smell different in the rain. The normal stenches of the day, of sweaty men in suits, of exhaust fumes and garbage, get pushed to the ground by the water, cleansed by the downpour.

Liverpool, sitting balanced on the hills overlooking the river Mersey, is no different. The smell of the river as it leads to the sea fills the air on rainy days as the rain forms streams from the top of mount pleasant to the dockside.

Liverpool is an easy place to lose yourself in. As the three men in dark blue Armani suits sat in a city centre coffee shop, they discussed how to find their quarry.

"He'll have gone to ground, David."

David Ferguson looked gloomily out into the rain. Across the paved area, slumped against the front of a women's clothes shop, a tramp huddled under a filthy blanket. He slipped his hand inside his jacket, and felt the comforting bulge of the Sig-Sauer .45 Automatic in its holster. When he spoke, it was in a strong Belfast accent.

"Don't get me wrong gentleman. You knew this was going to be a dangerous assignment."

"Assignment. That's a laugh. This is a wild goose chase, not an assignment."

Ferguson turned and glared at his two minders.

"Look, in his day, this man was one of the most feared enforcers the rebels had."

The taller of the two minders smirked.

"I've read his file. He doesn't seem like much to me."

The Irishman looked into the man's eyes.

"Son, on his worst day, and your best, he'd end you without a second thought. Lets get moving. He's going to be difficult to trace."

they stepped out into the downpour. The tramp across the way watched them move off into the rain.

"So what happened to this guy?"

"Sometimes Ops go wrong. He shot a kid."

"Big deal. The guy was a terrorist."

"Correction. He was a soldier. No bomb attacks, no civilian casualties."

"Just British soldiers."

"It was a war. What are you looking for?"

"I lost friends to the Provos."

"And I lost friends to the army. If you try and turn this into some mission of vengeance, I'll kill you myself – before he does."

* * *

Liam Dillon stank. The stench of booze on his his breath was matched only by the sour reek of his clothes. Red-lined eyes stared from beneath his messy fringe out of the pub window into the rain.

"Don't you think you've had enough, Liam?" The barmaid asked.

"I can still see, so no. Get me a whiskey, girl dear."

Her disaproving stare burned into the back of his neck. He didn't care.

The glass landed on the table in front of him. The amber liquid glowed, reflecting his face back at him. Time to kill some memories. The cold liquid burned on the way down, warming his stomach.

"You look like shit."

He turned and looked at Ferguson.

"I feel like shit. What do you want?"

"got a job for you."

He got unsteadily to his feet.

"Not interested."

The big man behind Ferguson gripped Liam's shoulder.

"Sit down and listen."

"Move your hand."

He smirked. Liam felt his temper building, and pushed the demons back down with another gulp of the whiskey. He glanced at Ferguson.

"I don't work for you anymore, David. Leave me alone."

He brushed the hand off, and walked out of the bar.

"You want me to go after him?" the Big Man asked.

"No. He'll be back here soon enough. We might as well have a drink."

* * *

Liam didn't go home after his encounter. Instead he went down the alley at the side of pub to relieve himself. The big minder from before stepped out and lit a cigarette.

"Well, look who it is. The big man himself."

"Fuck you."

"That the best you can come up with? Pathetic."

"I don't need this shite. Get out of my way."

The Big man barred his way out of the Alley. Liam felt his temper bubbling to the surface, the old fire coming through. He pushed it down.

"Son, you don't want to be fuckin' with me right now. Move."

"Make me."

Liam snapped. His right boot lashed out, cracking the big man under the kneecap. He went down like a sack of bricks. Liam kicked out again, into his temple. The big man's eyes rolled back in his head, and he slumped, unconscious on the bricks. Despite the fact he knew the minder couldn't hear, Liam leaned close, and whispered to him

"Next time, you're a dead man."

He strode out of the alley, and back into the pub.

* * *

Ferguson was waiting for him as Liam slipped into the Booth.

"I take it you and McCleish had a little chat."

"You could say that. Next time, I advise you to choose your staff a little more carefully."

"Is he still alive?"

"For now."

Ferguson gestured to the other minder. The man headed out the door and round to the alley. Liam leaned back in his chair.

"Now, what was it you wanted, me old son?"

"You've heard of the Digidestined, I presume?"

"Buncha kids, playing at saving the world. Have little creatures called Digimon. Hence the name, I guess."

"Something like that. Except they aren't playing. I have it on fairly good authority that the fate of the world is going to be decided by those kids."

"Joy forever fecking unconfined. What do you want me to do about it?"

"I thought you'd never ask..."

* * *

Liam sat back in his seat, and glanced out of the Planes window with something akin to disgust. having resolved to drink himself to death not two months before, his decision to take Ferguson up on his offer went against his instincts.

"You've gone and done it now, old son." He muttered.

Dressed in a battered flight jacket, t-shirt and jeans, the big Irishman closed his eyes, and with a soldiers instincts, dropped off to sleep.

* * *

The little odaiba pub needed some doing up, but Liam liked it. It was small, a bit battered, but serviceable and local to his un-knowing charges. The Agency had set him up with the place and enough money to keep it running for years. The fully stocked bar gleamed at him, and he reached up, and grabbed a glass. Filling it with whiskey, he toasted the empty room.

"Cead Mille Failte. And to new beginnings."

He rolled his eyes.

"Because what the world really needs is yet another Irish Theme Bar."

downing his drink, he set to work.

* * *

Taichi Kamiya turned to Yamato Ishida.

"So. We need somewhere to drink."

Matt glared sullenly at his friend.

"We don't need anywhere to drink."

"Well, we cant go into most of the bars in town."

"That's because you keep getting us thrown out."

"It wasn't just me!"

Agumon looked up as he traipsed alongside his companion.

"Well, it might have had something to do with the Lemonade fireball trick."

"Precisely. Which I couldn't do without your help. You're equally to blame."

"I could grow to hate you, Tai."

"Only grow to?" Gabumon asked.

"He is my companion, after all."

"Do you two mind?" Tai snapped.

"Tetchy today, aren't we?"

"Will you guys shut the hell up?" Sora Takenouchi said from behind them. "Squabbling isn't gonna get me a bacardi and coke any quicker."

"Or me." Mimi Tachikawa chimed in.

"Hey, what about that place?" Joe said.

The pub he pointed out was nestled between two buildings. In contrast to the bright neon lights of the other bars, its understated façade would have barely been noticeable had it not been for the pub sign above the door.

"Looks like a bit of a dive..." Izzy said sceptically.

"You got any better alternatives?"

"Not really. Just thought I'd point it out."

"If they know how to serve drinks, I couldn't care less." Mimi said. "Lets give it a try, its freezing out here."

The pushed open the pub door. A mountain of a man stood behind the bar, casually reading the newspaper, a cigarette angling from the corner of his mouth. As his gaze flickered over each of them, the smile in his eyes gave them the feeling that they were being laughed at, ever so subtly.

"Well now," Liam Dillon said in heavily accented Japanese, "Top of the Morning to you. What will you folks be having?"

* * *

(A/N)

Yeah, I've decided to try something a bit new. The idea of writing Liam Dillon story has been bubbling away in the back of my mind for a while, and he's established himself firmly enough in my stories to finally warrant it. Originally, a good part of what will be this fic was going to be a side story in "Final Resolution," but the idea gradually became its own story. Regardless of the way this first chapter comes across, this _is_ a digimon story. I just needed to set the background first. We'll be seeing some more glimpses of Liam's past as things go on. The shooting that set him low can be found in "Now, forever and Always."

This stories designed to give a you a new perspective on his character, and it s a journey I'm looking forward to going on. Liam isn't as simple a character as he initially comes across.

Next chapter will be up pretty soon.

-Ben "Bendana" Myatt.


End file.
